Ruthless Honey

Chapter 1

*Abella pictured above*

My rifle jams just as I'm about to open fire on the beast, my heart beating erratically as it quickly advances on me. I scream out, tears welling in my eyes as sharp teeth grip my pant leg. I feel a sting of pain near my ankle where a fang grazes the skin. My body slams to the ground, my fingers digging into the earth as the animal drags me through the woods. The monstrous bear tramps through the wilderness with me in tow, white fur gleaming in the moonlight, intent on bringing me back to his den for a late night snack. I suddenly wish I'd stayed with my crew. None of them would've hesitated to take the shot, I can't figure out why I did.

Suddenly, I hear my friends' familiar voices calling my name, and the bear drops me at their feet. I glance up, staring into the eerie glow of the creature's blue eyes, perplexed. I've never seen a bear with eyes like that before, but I don't have much time to ponder his unusual actions or those haunting eyes before gunshots ring out and he collapses to the ground in a heap of white fur. I turn my head in a daze to see Dale slowly lowering his rifle.

"Woooowee how the fuck did you manage to find a polar bear girl?" Dale hoots loudly.

I hastily jump to my feet and whirl on Dale, head butting him in the mouth with as much force as I can muster. I can feel a piece of his tooth lodge itself beneath the skin of my forehead, but my mind barely registers the pain in the moment. I watch in satisfaction as he winces in pain, blood pouring from his mouth. "What the fuck did you do that for?!" he cries out in astonishment, his weapon clattering to the ground.

I smile viciously at him, ignoring the throbbing ache in my forehead. "Just cause I felt like it," I toss out with a shrug.

I can't let them know that I took pity on the animal, that for a moment I felt oddly connected to it. They can't know that part of me cares that they killed the animal that spared my life. Hunter's remorse just isn't something the guys understand, and I barely understand it myself.

"His head would look real nice on my wall," I say, playing up my indifference.

"You owe me a new tooth," Dale sneers at me while spitting out blood.

"Oh, suck it up, it's only a chipped tooth asswipe, "I roll my eyes.

"Can you two shut the hell up and help us load him into the truck?" Cora snaps at us.

I turn to look at my best friend, her red hair loosely gathered in a bun, with curled strands framing her pale face.

I playfully flip her off, but walk over to where she, Bob, and Felix stand. Dale, of course, isn't going to help, too busy bitchin' about his stupid tooth.

"How are we supposed to get him in the truck? We were just supposed to be scouting the area today, we don't have any of the gear we need to lift him into the truck." Felix says pointedly, glaring at Dale.

"Hey, none of this would've happened if Abella here hadn't wandered off in the first place," Dale replies indignantly.

"We could always come back for him tomorrow," Bob suggests, always the voice of reason, ignoring Dale's outburst.

"I packed some stuff just in case," I chime in, taking my backpack off. I pull an industrial chain from my bag, we chain up his paws, and hook the chains onto the crane connected to the truck bed. I press the button on the side of the crane, watching the animal's massive body lift into the air. Then, the crane gently lowers its body onto the truck bed.

Felix closes the tailgate, his brown eyes shining with childlike glee, "We should get a lot for this big boy at auction."

Cora and I climb into the back of the truck with Felix. Dale whines that he's in too fragile a state to sit in the back this time, so, just to shut him up, we let him sit in the front seat. Bob climbs into the driver's seat, shaking his head and muttering under his breath.

"Everyone buckled up?" Bob asks us.

"Yes, Father," we all say in unison. Bob lets out a hearty laugh and starts the car. It's an ongoing joke between us that Bob is kind of like the dad of our group, even though we're all around the same age. He's the most mature and the unspoken leader of our little tribe. I doze off on the ride back to our cabin, and Cora shakes me awake once we arrive.

We pull into the garage and climb out of the truck. "We'll put him in the freezer for the night and skin and clean the kill tomorrow," Bob announces. I sigh in relief, happy to hear that, since I'm feeling pretty beat from the events of the day.

Once inside, we wash up and sit down to dinner. It's Felix's night to cook, so he whips up some of the deer meat we got during our last hunt and pairs it with garlic roasted potatoes for a quick meal. I finish eating and head up the stairs to my room to take a shower. I step into my bathroom and peer at my reflection in the mirror. Tired almond shaped brown eyes stare back at me, my sleek black hair pulled back into a lifeless ponytail. I grimace when I notice Dale's tooth still buried in my forehead. I grab my tweezers and use them to pull out the piece of tooth, examining it. "Maybe I should give it back to him," I giggle, placing it on the counter.

I undress and step into the shower, scrubbing the day's grime off my skin and out of my hair. Getting out, I wrap a towel around my body and brush my teeth before doing my nightly skincare routine. I walk back into my bedroom to see Cora sitting on my bed, deep in thought.

"Hey, what's on your mind? " I ask, walking past her, to sift through my drawers in search of a nightgown.

"I can't be the only one who found it strange that that bear pretty much carried you back to us," she says, her eyebrows furrowing in frustration.

"I thought so too." I say earnestly as I slip into my nightgown, "It was actually kinda miraculous if you think about it."

"Do you think someone's training them?" Cora wonders aloud. I look at her, wondering if she's lost her mind. Who the fuck would risk their life to train wild animals to save people? Sounds like a some shit out of a Disney movie.

"Nah, maybe it was just fate. Simply wasn't my time to go."

"If you say so. I think something weird is going on though."

I finish wrapping my hair before sitting down next to her on the bed, patting her thigh in reassurance. Of the two of us, she's always been the one to worry and overthink everything. She's been that way since we were younger, once her mind sets on something, she can't leave it alone. "Just don't worry about it. It was probably just one of those weird things that just happens sometimes."

"Yeah, you're right, I'm gonna head to my room."

"Alrighty, see you in the morning."

She leaves the room, closing the door quietly behind her. I lay back on my bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about what she said, none of it making sense to me. "This has been such a stramge day," I whisper to myself before climbing under the covers, swiftly falling into a deep slumber. I struggle to sleep peacefully, my dreams consisting of sharp teeth, slashing claws, and piercing blue eyes that seem to glow from within.

A/N: I started writing this 7 years ago. Something about the story called me back.